Packaging, shipping, or transporting glass bottles is challenging because glass is susceptible to breakage. Beyond the minimal requirement of preventing the bottles being transported from breaking during transportation, packaging systems also strive to lower the size and weight of the shipment, increase the efficiency of the assembly time, provide flexibility in the size of bottles that can be packaged, allow for a variety of bottle shapes to be shipped within the same container, and reduce costs.
Before the packaging insert of the present disclosure, packaging systems were deficient because they took too much time to assemble, did not allow for a variety of bottle shapes and sizes to be shipped within a specific box size shipping insert, did not sufficiently prevent the bottles from coming into contact with one another, and/or are bulkier and heavier than necessary.
Loose fill packing systems, such as polystyrene peanuts, may appear to provide cushioning, but can settle during transit and allow glass to touch glass or the outside of the outer box, thus contributing to damage. Other systems, such as using packing paper or Bubble Wrap®, assist in the protection of glass bottles, but can be burdensome when assembling and inefficient in maximizing shipping space. Molded shipping inserts (foam or card board), while generally effective, do not provide versatility for allowing for a variety of bottles sizes, are cumbersome to assemble, and/or are harmful to the environment due to including more packaging than is necessary.
There is, thus, a need in the art for a shipping insert that prevents glass bottles from breaking when in transit, maximizes shipping space, minimizes shipping weight (and thus harm to the environment), reduces the assembly time of the shipment, and is a cost-effective solution.